OT- Does anyone know what a sleeve valve is on an engine?

crossthread · Jul 23, 2017

I was watching a documentary on old cars the other night and it was talking about a car that had a v-12 engine and "sleeve valves" as opposed to a normal valve train. I had never heard of that term. They said it can't break or burn a valve but they tend to burn oil.

magneticanomaly · Jul 23, 2017

Sleeve valve - Wikipedia

6PTsocket · Jul 23, 2017

magneticanomaly said:
Sleeve valve - Wikipedia

That is really interesting. It requires no timing belt or chain, no push rods or rocker arms. It is gear driven and would seem to be less prone to going out of correct timing. I wonder how rotating the whole cylinder worked out.

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crossthread · Jul 23, 2017

Thanks magneticanomaly. I would have looked it up but I don't have a computer. Actually I did look it up and I was having a bit of trouble understanding exactly how it works but thanks.

L Vanice · Jul 23, 2017

I learned about the Knight sleeve valve engines in 1964. My father heard of an old car that was possibly available for sale, so we went to the place. No one was there, but we found the car in an open barn and looked it over. The name was Falcon-Knight, not one we had ever heard of. I went to the library (that is how it used to be done back then) and found that the Knight part of the name meant it had a sleeve valve engine. I looked at the pictures of the engine innards and saw why the sleeve valve design did not survive as a car engine. We did not try to buy the car. Looked at a nice Auburn roadster for $3200 back then and saw a Duesenberg sedan with a price of $11,000 in the window. I ended up buying a new Oldsmobile. Years later, I satisfied my antique car desire by buying a 1929 Elcar sedan that was driveable. It had a very conventional 6 cylinder Continental engine. One year of antique car ownership was enough for me.

Larry

6PTsocket · Jul 23, 2017

crossthread said:
Thanks magneticanomaly. I would have looked it up but I don't have a computer. Actually I did look it up and I was having a bit of trouble understanding exactly how it works but thanks.

In one version the whole engine cylinder sleeve rotates. There are holes in the sleeve near the top. The block has passages from the intake manifold (gas and air in) and to the exhaust. The passages go up to the outside of the sleeve. As the cylinder rotates the holes in the cylinder line up with the passages to let gas in and exhaust out at the correct time. Pretty clever.

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Steve in SoCal · Jul 23, 2017

The Hawker Sea Fury was powered by a sleeve valve radial engine,
Bristol Centaurus - Wikipedia

Steve

6PTsocket · Jul 23, 2017

Steve in SoCal said:
The Hawker Sea Fury was powered by a sleeve valve radial engine,
Bristol Centaurus - Wikipedia

Steve

That plane hit 460 mph. Sleeve valves couldn't be that obsolete. That is one of the fastest production prop planes built. The Sea Fury missed the war by a couple of years. Jets were starting to come in by then. They already saw some action during the war.

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billmac · Jul 23, 2017

Some of the best piston aero engines ever built used sleeve valves. Bristol Hercules, Centaurus etc had a great reputation in wartime use. In particular they could take damage from anti-aircraft fire etc and still keep running. They had long lives between repair in civil use as well. I have flown in a Korean war era bomber powered by Bristol sleeve valve engines. An interesting experience - no pressurisation, needed oxygen masks for virtually the entire flight of about 4 hours. Not comfortable!

Steve in SoCal · Jul 23, 2017

6PTsocket said:
That plane hit 460 mph. Sleeve valves couldn't be that obsolete. That is one of the fastest production prop planes built. The Sea Fury missed the war by a couple of years. Jets were starting to come in by then. They already saw some action during the war.

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Piston aero engines were obsolete by the end of WWII, they did continue to develop some into the late 1940's. The P&W 3460 and Wright 3350 were the last big radials. That didn't mean they went away or the airplanes were not designed around them. The turbine engine was still in its infancy.

The Sea furry is a fast plane and is regarded by many as the "best flying" single engine warbird. If you think a Sea Furry is fast with a Centaurus, look at the 4360 and particularly 3350 powered racers.

Steve

Bill D · Jul 23, 2017

I believe some steam locomotives were built with sleeve valves.
Bill D

Lanso · Jul 23, 2017

First time I heard of a sleeve valve engine was in an old 2 stroke book.

Newman109 · Jul 23, 2017

When I was a little kid in Chicago right after WWII, there were many old cars still on the road since none were available new since 1940 or so. Among these cars were some Willys Kinghts.

You could always tell one in traffic by the plume of blue smoke following it. They were notorious oil burners but they more than made up for it by being very slow. It was a terrible design that was destined to fail on the day it came out.

moonlight machine · Jul 23, 2017

Don't forget the Napier Sabre, H 24 cylinder. Basicly 2 opposed 12 cyl engines stacked one above the other with the crankshafts geared together. Sleeve valves made it a lot smaller than it would have been if it had overhead valves. It is huge anyway, I saw one on display at Hendon.

Fabworks · Jul 23, 2017

moonlight machine said:
Don't forget the Napier Sabre, H 24 cylinder. Basicly 2 opposed 12 cyl engines stacked one above the other with the crankshafts geared together. Sleeve valves made it a lot smaller than it would have been if it had overhead valves. It is huge anyway, I saw one on display at Hendon.

Here is the beast.

In the Typhoon

Shaybuilder · Jul 23, 2017

I have a friend who has Sterns automobile that has a sleeve valve engine in it. It is a oil burner.

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OT- Does anyone know what a sleeve valve is on an engine?

crossthread

Titanium

magneticanomaly

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6PTsocket

Aluminum

crossthread

Titanium

L Vanice

Diamond

6PTsocket

Aluminum

Steve in SoCal

Titanium

6PTsocket

Aluminum

billmac

Stainless

Steve in SoCal

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Bill D

Diamond

Lanso

Cast Iron

Newman109

Diamond

moonlight machine

Diamond

Fabworks

Hot Rolled

Shaybuilder

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